This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/013,683, filed on Jun. 18, 2014.
The present invention relates to a wearable stereoscopic viewer that can be used to view stereographic 3D image content composed of left and right images, an image format well known in the art. The stereographic 3D imagery can be conveyed by desktop computer, laptop, tablet screens and printed material, if the ink-dot matrix of said printed material is of a sufficiently high resolution that prevents the perception of the ink dots from interfering with the perception of the imagery. The present invention can view still or motion stereographic 3D imagery. The present invention can be made of injection-molded plastic with techniques familiar to those skilled in the art.
The present invention is configured with laterally movable left and right viewpoint optics, to enable adjustment of the optics to the inter-pupillary distance of the user. Each optic is positioned by a slot in the frame to facilitate independent adjustment relative to the other optic. Each adjustable optic has a lens and an occluding element. When properly adjusted, the left occluder prevents the right image from being seen with the left lens, and the right occluder is prevents the left image from being seen with the right lens, respectively.
The optics are secured into the slots with a nosepiece configured to be attachable to and releasable from the frame, to permit the optics to be removable and replaceable with optional types of optics.
The nosepiece has fixed occluding elements configured to occlude the passage of any stray light from the images that impinges between the nosepiece and the inside edges of the occluders, so that the left eye of the user sees only the left image, and the right eye of the user sees only the right image, respectively.
The feature of the releasably attachable nosepiece permits optional types of optics to be used, including optics that possess a power of magnification, which is useful for viewing small format screens such as tablets, providing that the power of magnification does not reveal image pixelation and thus degrade the quality of the perceived imagery. Prism power can also be configured into the optics to aid the user in the process of left and right stereographic 3D image fusion.
In addition, optics can be configured with only prism power, i.e., without magnification power, to enable viewing of larger format screens from various focal lengths. However, flat faced prisms should not be configured in the present invention, because flat faced prisms have inherent optical problems, such as image distortion and color separation. Curved prisms, usually in a meniscus format, can substantially reduce these said optical problems. Such curved prisms are in effect, corrective lenses with a zero power.
If a user wears prescription glasses, the frame of the present invention can be placed over the glasses, permitting the optics of the viewer to be positioned in front of the user's glasses, and work in concert with them.